How to repair AutoCAD drawing file and fix its errors

This article will help you repair AutoCAD drawing that is corrupted or its showing errors.

Also, if your AutoCAD drawing file size has increased unexpectedly or you are constantly getting error messages like “drawing file is not valid” then you can use the methods mentioned in this article to fix the errors.

So, let’s start with the most serious problem which is the file not opening at all.

You can try the following methods to open the file that is not opening normally or not opening at all.

Recover Command

Open a new blank drawing and type RECOVER on the command line and press enter key.

A new “browse” window will open up, locate your file which is not opening and click the Open button.

AutoCAD will perform an audit and the file should now open in the current window, save it as a new DWG file.

Insert file as a block

If the above method does not work then try inserting the corrupted AutoCAD file as a block.

Open a new blank drawing and type INSERT on the command line, press enter, and the Blocks palette will show up.

Click the “Libraries” tab and then click the file navigation icon as shown in the following image.

Locate the corrupted AutoCAD drawing that is not opening and then click the Open button.

If the file opens up in the blocks palette simply drag and drop it from the “libraries” tab to the current drawing.

Clean the AutoCAD drawing you just added and then save it as a new file.

Insert the file as xRef

If none of the methods above worked then try inserting the drawing as an xRef.

Type ATTACH and press enter key, from the browse window that shows up.

Select the DWG file in the file type option and then locate your corrupted AutoCAD file and click the Open button.

Select the default option in the “Attach External Reference” window and click OK.

The drawing should attach as an xRef in the current blank drawing.

Type XREF and then select the attached xRef from the palette, then right-click on it and select the bind option as shown in the following image.

After binding the drawing explode it all using the X command and then save it as a new file.

Remove DWL files

AutoCAD creates some temporary files that are required to work with your drawing and these files are removed once you close the drawing normally.

But if the software crashes unexpectedly these files are not removed which can create problems.